California has paid prison officer Shayne A. Ziska his full salary for two and one half years on the condition that he stay at home, says the Los Angeles Times. Ziska, 41, is not disabled, injured or ill. He is, however, under criminal investigation by the FBI for association with members of a prison gang – allegations he denies.

Ziska hasn’t worked since October 2000, when the California Department of Corrections suspended him, pending the outcome of the investigation. Because he has not been convicted or formally charged, prison officials will not fire him. So he sits at home, receiving full pay.

State senators are critical. “It is an administrative nightmare,” says Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough). “It speaks volumes about why people distrust government. They should do their investigation and make a decision: Either terminate the employee or reinstate him.” She believes that the officers could be given some other work in the interim. They could, at a minimum, pick up litter.

“The most difficult thing to fight is a lie,” Ziska said. “You cannot refute a lie.” Since Ziska’s leave began, the state has paid him roughly $150,000.

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The award honors individuals in the media or media-related fields who have advanced national understanding on the 21st century challenges of criminal justice. It will be presented Feb 16, 2017 at a dinner at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

"Prescription opioid misuse and use of heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl are intertwined and deeply troubling problems," says director Tom Frieden of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The heroin-related death total topped the number of gun homicides by 10 cases.

The program aims to identify troubled probationers who aren’t complying with requirements that they remain drug free. It gives them the option of receiving methadone treatment while in jail. Then they are handed off to an outpatient treatment program on their release from jail. It's called a success because four of the original seven participants are still taking part.

Ronald Bert Smith Jr. was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m. His attorneys asked the Supreme Court to hear the case because a judge had overridden the jury's recommendation that Smith get a life prison term. Four justices voted to delay the execution, but five votes were needed to do so.